My Dragon – Chapter 9 – I Make A Bridge

Chapter 9 – I Make A Bridge

I walked back and forth along the river bank trying to think of some way to cross the river. I found a high flagpole with a rope going over to the other side. The rope went through a loop at the top of the pole, and then down the pole. At the bottom of the pole was a large crank. There was a sign on the crank that said:

TO SUMMON THE DRAGON, TURN THE CRANK
REPORT DISORDERLY CONDUCT TO THE GORILLA

From what the cat had told me, I knew that the other end of the rope was tied around the dragon’s neck. In that moment, I felt sorrier than ever for the poor dragon. If he were on this side of the river, the gorilla could twist his wings until it hurt so much that he’d have to fly to the other side. If he were on the other side, the gorilla could crank the rope until the dragon would either choke to death or fly back to this side. What a life for a baby dragon!

I knew that if I called out to the dragon from across the river, the gorilla would surely hear me. I thought about climbing the pole and going across the on the rope. The pole was very high, and even if I could get to the top without being seen, I’d have to climb all the way across like a monkey.

The river below was very muddy, and all sorts of unfriendly things might live in it, but I couldn’t think of another way to get across. I was about to start climbing the pole when, despite all the noise the monkeys were making in the background, I heard a loud splash behind me. I looked all around in the water, but it was dusk now, and I couldn’t see anything there.

“It’s me, Crocodile,” said a voice to the left. “The water’s lovely, and I have such a craving for something sweet. Won’t you come in for a swim?”

A pale moon came out from behind the clouds and I could see where the voice was coming from. The crocodile’s head was just peeping out of the water.

“Oh, no thank you,” I said. “I never swim after sunset, but I do have something sweet to offer you. Perhaps you’d like a lollipop, and perhaps you have friends who would like lollipops, too?”

“Lollipops!” said the crocodile. “Well, that is a treat! How about it, boys?”

A whole chorus of voices shouted, “Hurrah! Lollipops!” and I counted as many as seventeen crocodiles with their heads just peeping out of the water.

“That’s fine,” I said. I took out my pink lollipops and the rubber bands. “I’ll stick one here in the bank. Lollipops last longer if you keep them out of the water, you know. Now, one of you can have this one.”

The crocodile who had first spoken swam up and tasted it. “Delicious! Very delicious!” he said.

“Now, if you don’t mind,” I said, “I’ll just walk along your back and fasten another lollipop to the tip of your tail with a rubber band. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Oh no, not at all,” said the crocodile.

“Can you get your tail out of the water just a little?” I asked.

“Yes of course,” said the crocodile, and he lifted up his tail. Then I walked along his back and fastened another lollipop with a rubber band.

“Who’s next?” I asked, and a second crocodile swam up and began sucking on that lollipop.

“Now, you gentlemen can save a lot of time if you just line up across the river,” I said, “and I’ll hurry along to give you each a lollipop.”

So the crocodiles lined up right across the river with their tails in the air, waiting for me to fasten on the rest of the lollipops. The tail of the seventeenth crocodile just barely reached the other bank.